Making Conservatives Cringe Since 1977

Michael Brown, Redux New York Times October 31, 2005 Editorial Responding to questions from three Democratic senators - Barbara Boxer, Paul Sarbanes and Barack Obama - at her confirmation hearing last week, Ellen Sauerbrey, the former Maryland state legislator nominated by President Bush to head a key State Department humanitarian bureau, could come up with no convincing reason for why her lack of any relevant experience coordinating emergency aid shouldn't disqualify her from the job. And yet the Senate once again seems to be on the eve of confirming another clearly unqualified Bush appointee. As for her credentials, Ms. Sauerbrey apparently did a fine job serving as the state chairwoman of Mr. Bush's 2000 campaign. She is currently serving as the American representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where she has zealously pursued an anti-abortion and anti-family-planning agenda. She has alienated many human rights groups, but endeared herself to the White House and her party's far-right wing.